What really happened in the alleged relationship between Josh Giddey and young woman

Josh Giddey had a one-night stand with a girl he met at a nightclub and later found out was just 15. Almost two years later threats were made to derail his career. See how it all went down.

Josh Giddey was just 19 when his entire world was turned upside down.

Giddey was in his rookie NBA season when he met a young woman in California, who he believed was also 19, at a club. The alleged relationship did not last long.

Now, almost two years later, that encounter is the subject of a Newport Beach police department and NBA investigation after leaked social media pictures and video emerged of Giddey with the then 15-year-old.

It’s understood the girl lied about her age to gain access to a nightclub, where she interacted with Giddey.

Multiple sources have confirmed it was a one-night encounter and was ended the next day when Giddey was made aware she was at high school.

All parties involved thought the situation had been dealt with until about two weeks ago when the 21-year-old NBA star was made aware that videos and photos of the pair together may soon be leaked online.

Giddey was in his rookie NBA season when he met a young woman in California, who he believed was also 19, at a club. The alleged relationship did not last long. Picture: AFP

It’s believed the girl in question – and her family – are feeling remorseful about the situation and the drama it has caused Giddey’s career now that it’s become public and a social media scandal.

How the videos were leaked to social media and the motivation behind making them public are part of the NBA investigation and not believed to be related to the young woman or her family.

It is understood a threat was made from an unknown person to derail Giddey’s career.

US media has reported the girl’s family is reluctant to co-operate with a police investigation, which Californian legal experts claim is a major ­obstacle in any prosecution for statutory rape.

Stephen Sitkoff, a defence lawyer who previously prosecuted sex crime cases in California, said: “You don’t see a lot of filings where the age gap is narrow.” Mr Sitkoff suggested that made it unlikely charges would be laid, given there were typically no witnesses in such a case.

“They’re the only two who know. If she’s uncooperative, it’s going to be difficult,” he said.

HOW IT UNFOLDED

Last Thursday evening AEDT, a tweet surfaced from an anonymous user accusing Giddey of potentially inappropriate behaviour with an underage female. The tweet, which claimed the girl was a junior in high school, was deleted soon after and the user deactivated their account, but not before other users seized on the opportunity to download and recirculate the two videos and image, sending social media into meltdown.

One video features Giddey, supposedly talking to the girl’s brother, in which he says: “I’m here with your beautiful sister. Good luck for your season. I hear you’re going to Sacramento soon for a game so best of luck. We’re going to come up and watch you take care of business”.

On Thursday November 23 2023, pictures emerged from an anonymous X user accusing Giddey of potentially inappropriate behaviour with an underage female.

In another video, where the girl appears to be standing in the background outside a nightclub, Giddey says: “What’s up my man? We’re at the front of the club, me and my girl, about to head back to mine”.

The image purportedly features a selfie of Giddey standing behind the girl with his arms around her.

Nasty rumours swirled and the social media pile-on featured a swath of vicious, untrue memes and accusations hurled at the 21-year-old.

TikTok videos, purportedly of the girl allegedly at the centre of the incident, almost immediately went viral. One shows her in a pool, others show her singing along to popular music.

In yet another video the girl shouts at the camera: “Hey guys, I dated Josh, We don’t like to talk about it”.

Giddey has continued to play since the scandal erupted, playing three games for the Thunder including scoring 14 points in Friday’s win over the LA Lakers, but has not spoken about the situation since his first comments last Saturday.

“I understand the question, obviously, but there is no further comment right now,” Giddey said.

Asked again, he said: “I get the question guys. I completely understand you guys want to know about it. But, just for right now, I don’t have anything to say.”

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

In California, while the age of consent is 18, someone accused of statutory rape is able to escape conviction if they reasonably believed the alleged victim was an adult. And the burden of proof rests on prosecutors to show that a defendant did not believe the other person was over the age of 18.

Juries in criminal trials are advised by an instruction manual prepared by the state’s judicial council that “the defendant is not guilty of this crime if he/she reasonably and actually believed that the other person was age 18 or older”.

It’s understood the girl lied about her age to gain access to a nightclub, where she interacted with Giddey.

Criminal defence lawyer Neil Shouse, a former prosecutor, said this could be successfully argued if the other person “claimed and appeared to be over 18”, carried a fake ID showing they were over 18, or was present in an adult venue like a bar or club.

“In short, if a reasonable person would have no reason to believe the minor was underage, the statutory rape charge should be dismissed,” he said.

Dmitry Gorin, another prosecutor-turned-defence lawyer, similarly said such a “good-faith belief the alleged victim was over 18” was a valid defence to statutory rape in the state.

A state Supreme Court decision in 1964 set a precedent of allowing the so-called “mistake of age” defence.

THE FALLOUT

Giddey’s Australian sponsor Weet-Bix has deleted all posts of the NBA star on the company’s platforms in a bid to limit negative commentary.

Giddey’s Australian sponsor Weet-Bix has deleted all posts of the NBA star on the company’s platforms. Picture: Facebook

Weet-Bix stressed the removal of the images “was not a precursor to any decisions on Josh’s contract as a Weet-Bix ambassador and we are still in contact with Josh’s management team and awaiting on the facts surrounding this matter”.

Andrew Bogut spoke about the situation on his Rogue Bogues Podcast, claiming the girl had lied to Giddey about her age.

Bogut said, whether or not the allegations were true, Giddey’s reputation had been damaged.

“The damage has been done to his PR profile regardless of what the result is,” Bogut said.

“We have had trial by media over the last 30 years, now we have trial by social media, which is 100 times worse.”

Weet-Bix has deleted all posts of the NBA star on the company’s platforms in a bid to limit negative commentary.

Originally published as What really happened in the alleged relationship between Josh Giddey and young woman